Witness Responses to Workplace Horizontal Bullying

• In Event: New Developments In Conflict Resolution

Abstract

This study examined witness responses to horizontal bullying in the workplace. It employed a qualitative multiple case design in which a purposive sample of six nurses who had witnessed bullying among peers/colleagues in hospital settings participated in interviews about those incidents. Protocols for interviewing and taking observational notes on nonverbal qualities were developed based on (a) Bowes-Sperry and O’Leary-Kelly’s (2005) witness intervention typology, (b) Namie and Namie’s (2009) witness paralysis framework, and (c) scholarly literature identifying workplace factors conducive to workplace bullying. Interview transcripts were analyzed using grounded theory and verified through independent interrater coding and informant checking. Findings revealed personal factors/perceptions that influence intervention and nonintervention behaviors, as well as workplace factors that enhance or impede intervention.

Authors

• Linda Dickinson, Seattle University

• Laurie Stevahn, Seattle University